Reconditioned car engines - any comments appreciated

[scorecard]

Looking to put a reconditioned engine in Honda Civic 3 door (15 years old).

Any members have any experiences with reconditioned engines overall or specifically with Honda?

Not looking to buy from a Honda service centre (and maybe they don't have reconditioned engines anyway).

It's my Thai sons car - overall it's in very good condition (I bought it new in Bkk 15 years ago), he loves the car and he takes good care of it,

he can't afford to upgrade to new car etc., for a while yet and I don't want to keep mollycodlinhg him with a new car.

so I'm happy / he's happy to support him 50/50 for a reconditioned engine.

Any experiences appreciated.

[harrry]

WHy not completly recondition his. It may take a week or so longer but you know you have a good base and you also do not have to mess round with the Land Transport Department.

[DavisH]

You can do an internet search on VSR Performance and Bear R honda. They do all manner of engine replacements, tuning, turbos, ecu's etc. You could get the current engine reconditioned or get a swap. B16's are popular. Or a B16 block with B20 head. These would cost more, and may been reconditioning anyway. They are getting long in the tooth now.

[scorecard]

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WHy not completly recondition his. It may take a week or so longer but you know you have a good base and you also do not have to mess round with the Land Transport Department.

Thanks.

Perhaps I should mention that my son is not looking to make modifications to gain speed or make the car suitable for rallies or anything like that.

From your comments I'm now remembering that there is an engine number and a change of engine number would need to be reported to the Land Transport Department.

Are you aware if the LTD reporting is complex? Can it be done outside of the province where the car is registered (in this it's Bkk, but son now resident in Chiang Mai, but of course the registration should really be changed to CM province).

Different question. Is it risky to buy reconditioned engines in Thailand?

Appreciate your comments. Thanks again.

[kartman]

Thailand's an engine swap country of course you may find individual garages that will rebuild but how good?, easiest route swap the large distmantlers will warranty the engine to work or change it and give you paperwork for change. There's a large one near the train station in CM they may even fit if Honda into Honda, would think cost at LDT if same as colour change 50b ish?.

[scorecard]

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Thailand's an engine swap country of course you may find individual garages that will rebuild but how good?, easiest route swap the large distmantlers will warranty the engine to work or change it and give you paperwork for change. There's a large one near the train station in CM they may even fit if Honda into Honda, would think cost at LDT if same as colour change 50b ish?.

Kartman, thank you for your post, sounds interesting.

Can you please give a little more detail of the location of the shop near CM station,

Yes it would be Honda into Honda (Honda Civic 3 door - about 15 years old, body and all other parts of the car in excellent condition, recently resprayed).

Also do you any very rough idea please of cost, and about how many days to do the change?

The overall objective is to keep the car running fairly well for say another 2 to 3 years until my Thai son is in a position to buy a new car (and when that happens the family will probably keep the Honda Civic anyway as a local runabout).

So one more question: I am not a mechanic and my overall knowledge in this area is limited. I bought the car new, there has never been any problem whatever with the gearbox, however given the age, would it be advisable to change both engine and gearbox in one job? Or is it better to leave current gearbox in place and change it if there are gearbox problems at a later time?

Again, thanks.

[DavisH]

What engine does the care have in it now? A 1.5? If its the basic 1.5, I'd be inclined to get it reconditioned. I'd rather spend 20-23K reconditioning the engine/gearbox, rather than swapping to the very same engine with an unknown history. The new engine you are putting in may not be newly reconditioned. Some are sold 'as is'.

[scorecard]

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What engine does the care have in it now? A 1.5? If its the basic 1.5, I'd be inclined to get it reconditioned. I'd rather spend 20-23K reconditioning the engine/gearbox, rather than swapping to the very same engine with an unknown history. The new engine you are putting in may not be newly reconditioned. Some are sold 'as is'.

It has the original 1.5 engine and the preference is to stay with that.

I hear your points about: unknown history / how good is the reconditioning work / has there been any reconditioning at all?

I'm in Chiang Mai, do any CM members know of a mechanic shop that could do a full reconditioning job of the current engine or engine and gearbox?

All advice appreciated.

[Pomthai]

How many kilometers has the current engine done? What makes you believe it needs reconditioning? Perhaps just a top overhaul and a thorough service with cleaning out inlet manifolds and EGR etc. Oil and coolant flushed then add new plugs, would probably do the trick for the next few years.

[kartman]

saha alai import on google maps will show you

[TPI]

I would recomend this company as they import second hand engines and gearboxes direct from japan, it might be more reasonable for the lad to just drop in a complete engine and gearbox, something that could be done by your local mechanic?

If you or your son could call the manager of the company on 081 687 478 (Kuhn Supang) I'm sure she will be able to solve any problems you might have! I've used her company many times before when reconditioning cars for resale and to date have never had any reason to complain.

Kuhn Supang speaks very good English and of course, Thai.

[TPI]

I would recomend this company as they import second hand engines and gearboxes direct from japan, it might be more reasonable for the lad to just drop in a complete engine and gearbox, something that could be done by your local mechanic?

If you or your son could call the manager of the company on 081 687 478 (Kuhn Supang) I'm sure she will be able to solve any problems you might have! I've used her company many times before when reconditioning cars for resale and to date have never had any reason to complain.

Kuhn Supang speaks very good English and of course, Thai.

More information....Khun Supang.....SV Autoparts....081 3455 288. Thanks for listening!

[Gandtee]

My regular garage put a re-conned engine in my old Toyota a year ago. It now uses nearly as much oil as petrol! The garage did the same with my Honda and it is as good as gold. Maybe the garage doesn't know if it is being sold a pup when it buys the engine? A gamble! I think that from my past experience I will just run them into the ground and do the fixes along the way.

[casualbiker]

Op.. Why do you think the engine NEEDS changing.. Excess smoke. Using oil. Knocking noise. What exactly?

As another poster said probably just needs a top end rebuild.. Done in a day or two!

[henry15]

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WHy not completly recondition his. It may take a week or so longer but you know you have a good base and you also do not have to mess round with the Land Transport Department.

Thanks.

Perhaps I should mention that my son is not looking to make modifications to gain speed or make the car suitable for rallies or anything like that.

From your comments I'm now remembering that there is an engine number and a change of engine number would need to be reported to the Land Transport Department.

Are you aware if the LTD reporting is complex? Can it be done outside of the province where the car is registered (in this it's Bkk, but son now resident in Chiang Mai, but of course the registration should really be changed to CM province).

Different question. Is it risky to buy reconditioned engines in Thailand?

Appreciate your comments. Thanks again.

Correct, you have to report e new motor to the LTD , and Yes its involve a lot of paperwork.

Once I'got a new motor, under warranty, I had to wait almost 2 months till Isuzu provided me alle the neccesary document. LTD put the new motor numbet in the Blue Book of the car

[RBOP]

What do you mean by "reconditioned engine"? Do you mean a rebuilt engine? Do you know what is wrong with the engine in the first place? Above all, buy from a reputable garage and get a warrantee.

Many things may be needed or not needed such as:

- re-boring the cylinders

- piston rings

- pistons themselves

- oil pump

- fuel pump

- timing belt

- timing kit

- all the many gaskets

- water pump

- etc.

In no way am I promoting this but here's starter for what a rebuild kit looks like http://www.japanengine.com/products/prodDetails.asp?pID=701&category=30&subcategory=482

[off road pat]

There is a excellent garage in the Ratphakhinai rd. inside the moat, if you follow the Ratchadamroen road behind Tha pae gate towards the centre you turn left at the first crossroads and it will be close to the next crossroads on your right side a small entrance but big inside.... The boss is Mr Pon. he and his team did great work on my 4x4 many times...And reasonably priced...he don't speak English, so bring a Thai translator....

[scorecard]

Op.. Why do you think the engine NEEDS changing.. Excess smoke. Using oil. Knocking noise. What exactly?

As another poster said probably just needs a top end rebuild.. Done in a day or two!

Obviously a good question. There is zero smoke and it's not using / leaking oil. The engine has become noisy. No clanking noises but more like continuous low level gurgling noise. I'm not a mechanic so where it's actually coming from / what's causing this noise I don't know.

From this thread I've gained some valuable knowledge and i'll now visit a good mechanic shop (the one mentioned by off road pat) and get some specific details of what's wrong and take it from there.

Thanks a lot to all.

[pgrahmm]

I'd get the sound diag'd first if no outright engine fail symptoms....Could be a water pump or belt tensioner....Possibly a noise from an outside system like AC....Tossing an engine in based on a sound is dicey....Never know - might toss an engine in and still have the same sound if running gear/accessory related....heck I've seen some engines make a terrible noise and only have a bent or put in inverted oil dip stick....check it out with a good shop first...

[thailand49]

A little off topic,, anything about engines swaps or good rebuild in Chon Buri, particularly in Pattaya?

Thanks,

[Joedoebarinio]

I was speaking with a ford mechanic about 18 years ago. I asked him what he thought of the then new 10000 mile oil. He believed that if the oil and filters are change before the 10k and earlier; short distance running, short motors ( the bottom half) should run indefinitely.

[thaiguzzi]

# Do not do an engine swap.

# It may be as simple as some of the posters suggested, and cost 3-5k.

# It may be terminal, in which case have the complete motor rebuilt, new everything, i doubt will come to more than 25-30k inc labour, machining, parts and warranty. Every large market town and city will have a decent rebuild shop.

# I blew my Nissan 2.7 litre OHV pushrod iron block and head diesel motor (race turbo fitted) up big time many years ago, cost 42k for a full rebuild inc new exchange c/head and a new rad.That's a crank grind, rebore, new pistons, valves blah blah.

# A 1.5 Honda will be significantly cheaper.

[whaleboneman]

Hi there. I just happen to be working on my daughter's 2001 civic right now. There was a burnt exhaust valve so car was running on three cylinders. (amazingly well by the way). Anyway, I am putting a new cylinder head on it.

But for your case, I would suggest nothing is wrong with the engine that a tune up, valve adjustment and maybe new timing belt wouldn't cure. First check all the goodies on the front of the engine to make sure it's not a water pump bearing (you'll see water dripping from pump telltale), or a noisy alternator, ac compressor, steering pump etc.

Not knowing what's wrong and then deciding to get a new engine could be a big mistake.

A good mechanic will be able to pinpoint the noise and change the one bad part. If they start replacing everything, they may be just guessing.

Good luck.

[whaleboneman]

Oh one other thing. If you do get any machining done, first take a look around the shop. Machine shops are like restaurants, I prefer to go to the clean ones.

[Jessi]

Op.. Why do you think the engine NEEDS changing.. Excess smoke. Using oil. Knocking noise. What exactly?

As another poster said probably just needs a top end rebuild.. Done in a day or two!

Obviously a good question. There is zero smoke and it's not using / leaking oil. The engine has become noisy. No clanking noises but more like continuous low level gurgling noise. I'm not a mechanic so where it's actually coming from / what's causing this noise I don't know.

From this thread I've gained some valuable knowledge and i'll now visit a good mechanic shop (the one mentioned by off road pat) and get some specific details of what's wrong and take it from there.

Thanks a lot to all.

Get the mechanic to check everything and replace or repair what is needed.

DO NOT do a engine swap because you do not know the history of the other engine.

[neeray]

This OP is very lucky. He got good solid advice from many TVF members. I agree with so many suggestions * don't do a swap to an unknown engine, * noise is probably more like a water pump or alternator, * probably no need to touch the gearbox.

I would be curious to know how many km are on this engine. A Honda is usually good for three or four hundred km before kaput. And this vehicle sounds like it has had good care.

[cheeryble]

Yes this is where Thaivisa shines what really useful answers.

My only contribution....get a long screwdriver or the right length of wood and use as a stethoscope to try to identify where the noise is coming from. Don't get your hair in the fan belt!

Oh and if you don't know the age of the timing belt get it checked.

Please let us know the outcome we wait with bated breath.

(Was going to ask WHY change myself and also mention Japanese but beaten to it and happy to have contact info if I ever need myself . Everyone wins)

[seedy]

My only contribution....get a long screwdriver or the right length of wood and use as a stethoscope to try to identify where the noise is coming from.

Piece of hose - 5/8 or 3/4 heater hose size - works great too. Also bends around obstacles.

[cheeryble]

My only contribution....get a long screwdriver or the right length of wood and use as a stethoscope to try to identify where the noise is coming from.

Piece of hose - 5/8 or 3/4 heater hose size - works great too. Also bends around obstacles.

Like it like it

[seedy]

You can really pinpoint the source of the noise. Tell which lifter is noisy without even opening up the valve cover.

ID which bearing in an alternator is going bad - front or back.

Don't thank me - thank my Father.